Raymond's Christmas Carol
by Gidzmo
Summary: Ray Jr. (Horatio's nephew) is in with the wrong crowd, much to the dismay of his mother (Yelina) and uncle (Horatio). But some unusual visitors are about to change things...(story format is very similar to the Dickens story).
1. Chapter 1-Frustration

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol" **_

**Chapter 1—"Frustration"**

Fourteen-year-old Raymond Caine was not a happy young man—and hadn't been since he and his mother had re-turned from Rio the previous summer. His father, with whom Raymond and his mother had been reunited after being officially "dead" for many years, was now really dead. _"This,"_ young Raymond thought drowsily, _"is SO unfair."_ He wished his father was still alive. Raymond rolled over and whacked the snooze button on his alarm clock. His dream of being with his father, looking over Rio from the hilltops, had been invaded by the reality that it was time to wake up.

Yelina Salas also missed her husband. For many years, she and Horatio had been led to believe that her husband was dead. Then she and Horatio (despite considerable opposition) had found out that Ray Sr. was indeed alive—and had been working deep undercover for the Federal agents. Horatio had reunited the family, and the three had relocated to Rio for Ray's protection. But the reunion had been short—Ray had been killed in Rio. Now Yelina and Raymond were back in Miami—but Yelina chose not to return to the Miami-Dade Police Department. She had instead chosen to become a private investigator.

That morning, she was making some breakfast for her son; the radio softly playing Christmas carols in the background. Yelina worried about Raymond—he hadn't been quite the same since their return from Rio. Her normally-outgoing only child had changed, becoming more withdrawn. _"Perhaps he's still grieving over his father,"_ Yelina thought. She'd call Horatio later—perhaps Raymond would find it easier talking to his uncle than to her. Christmas vacation was coming up in a month, and that meant no school for Raymond. Yelina didn't like the idea of having her son alone in the house in his present mood. Maybe the holiday—even if it was a quiet holiday with his family—would cheer Raymond up. Yelina went to her son's room to check on him. _"Getting back into the routine might settle him down,"_ Yelina thought. She could hear the sounds of her son's morning routine: rummaging around for something to wear and getting his books together. She knocked on his door. "Raymond? Breakfast is ready!" she called.  
"Be right out, Mom!" Raymond replied through the door as he stuffed his algebra book in his backpack.

Lt. Horatio Caine and his team had quite a different problem: somebody had decided to burglarize places that helped a group who cared for some of Miami's most vulnerable citizens—the abused women and children. What upset the team about this case—Horatio and Natalia, especially-was that someone had so little compassion for the emotionally-hurting. Fortunately, no one had been physically hurt-yet. Horatio wanted to find the thieves before that happened.

The third and most recent burglary involved one of the two Miami locations of Bonzo's Toy Emporium. The staff at both Bonzo's stores had been working with two popular Miami radio stations for the shelters. For every item a customer bought, Bonzo's contributed an amount (based on the cost of the item) to the Miami Safe Haven Fund. The staff of the two radio stations—WBLB-AM (a talkradio station) and WROK-FM (a rock station)—were involved with the Fund all year, but most extensively during the holidays. Their many listeners added to their involvement by buying toys for the Haven's children—the boxes that the stations kept in the lab reception area were over-flowing every day. Even Natalia's fellow officers and the lab personnel contributed to the Fund's toy and fund drive, something which touched Natalia deeply.

Eric and Ryan had just arrived at the Bonzo's West Beach store, which had been burglarized the night before, and began checking through it for evidence. Eric shook his head when he saw what had happened. "Looks like someone went very old-school to get in," Eric noted, seeing the bricks that had been thrown through a plate-glass window. Glass was all over a train display, and the bricks had smashed much of the display's village. All of the stores were on holiday hours; the two CSIs figured that the time of entry must have been very late. Unless someone's route home at the time of the burglary had been through this area, the only available witnesses were the mechanical kind—the store's security cameras.  
Ryan had found the carefully-disconnected alarm near the service entrance. But he also found that their suspect got a bit careless this time—he left his fairly-used pliers and screwdriver behind. These were soon measured, photographed, and bagged. Then Ryan joined Eric at the front of the store. "Looks like someone forgot a few things," he told Eric, showing him the tools. "The alarm's been disconnected."  
"Well, let's hope the security cameras are still working," Eric said as he gingerly stepped through the broken window.

Calleigh and Natalia soon arrived to help look for evidence. Natalia went in to help Eric with the inside; Ryan warning her, "Hey, Natalia, look out for the glass!" Calleigh helped Ryan with the security cameras. Out of the seven cameras around the immediate point of entry, the three nearest the window had been disconnected. "Just like the other Bonzo's and Graham's Goodies," Calleigh sighed in exasperation as she bagged one of the cameras. Graham's Goodies was a local favorite; the founders, David and Katie, donated in many ways to the Safe Haven Fund year-round. For the Grahams, the Fund was a personal cause: their eldest daughter, Irene, had been killed by her abusive husband two years ago. The Grahams' son and daughter-in-law, Ian and Rose, now raised Irene's son, twelve-year-old Duncan. Duncan's father, however, had somehow managed to disappear right after Irene's death. Not being able to find the man bothered Horatio—the family deserved some peace, and the file remained in the dayshift's active box.

"One place in each direction," Ryan mused aloud as he finished with a camera. "That leaves the south side. Wonder if the Fund has any donors on the south side?"  
Calleigh looked at Ryan as she placed the camera in the Hummer. "What are you thinking? A pattern to this?"  
Ryan took out a pad of paper and quickly sketched out a compass. "Well, so far, one store in each direction's been hit: one north, one east, and one west,…." Ryan explained. Calleigh easily figured where Ryan was going with his explanation. "_One north, one east, and one west,…."_ Ryan's words rumbled around in Calleigh's mind as she explained Ryan's theory to Eric and Natalia.  
_"A compass—but nothing on the south side,"_ Natalia thought.  
Eric quickly saw what Ryan was thinking—the suspect might well be following a pattern. "Why don't we check this out when we get back to the lab?" Eric suggested. "We have the new lightmap now, and we can add today's information."


	2. Chapter 2

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 2—"Annoyance Value"**

The team's discussion was interrupted at that point. A minivan rolled up near where Calleigh and Ryan had been working. This particular minivan—the first to show up at the scene-did not belong to either of the two stations who worked with Bonzo's. This one belonged to a rival talkradio station, WTLK-AM. Unlike WBLB, whose on-air staff presented all points of view, the rival WTLK staff—and this reporter, particularly-seemed interested in a "protest-authority" view. "And this station just had to send its most intrusive reporter," Eric groaned, as the reporter exited the vehicle. The reporter, Albert Engleberg, quickly slipped under the crime-scene tape and immediately walked towards Calleigh, trying to get her attention.

A patrol officer was running up behind Engleberg, ordering him to step back behind the tape. Engleberg, to Ryan's disbelief and Eric's consternation, simply ignored the officer. Every member of the Miami media _knew_ that they were to stay behind the yellow crime-scene tape, unless they were specifically permitted entry and properly escorted. Engelberg kept going, trying to talk to Calleigh—who simply ignored him. Eric and Ryan quickly stepped between Calleigh and Engleberg. "Sir, you're intruding on a crime scene—go back behind the tape with the officer now," Eric ordered.

The thin, sandy-haired Engleberg scowled at Eric. "Hey, haven't you heard of the First Amendment? I'm covering _an actual news story_ here! You can't arrest me for that!"  
"No, but it doesn't give you permission to interfere in a police investigation, either," Eric sternly told Engleberg.

"I would suggest that you do as Mr. Delko requested," a calm, but commanding voice spoke from behind the re-porter. "Move back behind the tape, Mr. Engleberg." Engleberg turned slowly and faced the speaker, whose eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.

"Lt. Caine!" Engleberg loudly protested. "Your officers are preventing me from covering a legitimate news story! The last time I looked, the First Amendment hadn't been repealed!"

"My officers are not keeping you from doing your job. YOU, however, are keeping my officers from doing theirs." Horatio stated as he removed his sunglasses and directed his icy gaze at Engleberg. "I'm giving you _two_ choices, Mr. Engleberg: step back behind the tape _now_ or be arrested." Two patrol officers, one with handcuffs in hand, waited just behind Horatio. Horatio and Engleberg looked steadily at each other, Horatio's ice-blue eyes meeting Engleberg's steel-gray eyes. Ryan and Eric watched, wondering who would blink first. An exasperated Engleberg finally turned towards the tape, scowled at Eric and Ryan, and went back towards his van. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and leaned against the Hummer.

Calleigh and Natalia had been watching the exchange from Calleigh's Hummer. "This guy just doesn't seem to take 'No' for an answer," Natalia said angrily. "He's shown up before the other media at the other two crime scenes, and he's made it to this one."

"That's how he makes his living," Calleigh noted, "making people angry. His station's known for that. Wonder if he'll file a report about how the police wouldn't comment again?"

A team meeting was held that afternoon, after they finished processing the Bonzo's store. The group was going to test Ryan's theory on the new large-screen computer map. Each location had been pointed out and labeled with a lightpen; then listed according to the compass points.

What Calleigh entered (in blue light):

Store Direction Burglary date Reopen Date

Bonzo's #1 North 12 November 14 November

Graham's Goodies #1 East 19 November 21 November

Bonzo's #2 West 03 December (proj.) 05 December

Graham's Goodies #2? South (proj.) 10 December (proj.) 12 December

"Well," Frank said, "looks like we have another pattern: check out the dates."  
"Each store was hit on Wednesday and re-opened on Friday," Eric noted. "just in time for the weekend. That means that Bonzo's #2 should reopen on December 5th. Strange that he didn't hit the day after Thanksgiving"

"The day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Real thoughtful of the guy," Natalia observed. "He didn't want the stores to miss their weekend money. Doesn't Graham's Goodies have another store somewhere?"

"Next to The Waffle House at South Beach Plaza," a smiling Calleigh said. "Ian and Rose run that store; David and Katie still run the main one."  
"Maybe, since he's already hit both Bonzo's stores," Horatio reasoned, "this person might decide to hit the South Beach Graham's Goodies on the tenth, IF he stays with the pattern."

Frank agreed. "Maybe some extra patrols around there might be useful." He went to arrange for the extra patrols. Horatio and Natalia went to visit Ian and Rose Graham to let them know about the potential problem. They also wanted to see how Ian's nephew, Duncan, was doing. Duncan had been doing well since his mother's murder, but there was one unsolved problem. Duncan had witnessed what happened between his parents—including his mother's murder. The young man had been so frightened at the time that he had been unable to tell the officers—or anyone else-what had happened two years ago. That puzzled even Horatio, who was usually able to help the younger witnesses talk about what happened.

Ryan had been studying the screen quietly. Something about the directions looked out-of-kilter to him, so he brought the compass up on the map screen. He looked at Calleigh's list again, and soon found the quirk—the suspect wasn't exactly following the compass. "Check this out," he told Calleigh and Eric, showing them what he had noticed. Ryan first circled the map compass (in green light) with the lightpen, then underlined the first letter of each direction on Calleigh's list. The result: instead of "N-E-S-W", the letters read "N-E-W-S". All three were absolutely baffled by what that had meant; even Horatio was puzzled when he was told of this oddity.

"Considering he's managed to be at all three crime scenes within minutes of our arrival," Horatio said, "maybe we should pay a visit to Albert Engleberg. He's scooping all of the Miami media on this, maybe he knows something."


	3. Chapter 3

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 3—"New Friend, New Trouble"**

Raymond had a new friend. Bob Gormanson was the same age as Raymond; Yelina met him one day after school. She soon suspected trouble: Bob, who tended to favor all-black clothes, seemed to be hiding something—Yelina couldn't figure out exactly what. He also seemed to have rather large amounts of money for a seventh-grader. Bob was at the house one day when Yelina came home and caught both young men with wine coolers. A heated argument between mother and son over trust resulted after Yelina told Raymond that his friend was no longer welcome. "I don't care who bought the alcohol, Raymond! Both of you are underage—what if you had been in a car and were in an accident?" Yelina told her son. When reasoning failed, she put her foot down, telling him, "Look, _I do not care what your friends are doing! _ I don't want you around him, and I don't want him here!"  
Raymond angrily locked himself in his room. An exhausted Yelina, wondering what she was going to do, sat down wearily on the couch. So little time before Christmas break—she couldn't be with Raymond all the time. A de-spairing Yelina, after getting a cup of coffee, finally reached for the phone and called Horatio at home.

Horatio and Marisol arrived shortly at Yelina's house. Yelina was glad to see Horatio; maybe Raymond would listen to him. They listened patiently as she explained Raymond's recent behavior, including the alcohol and the argument. Marisol, who was sitting next to Yelina, saw that her sister-in-law was about ready to cry. She reached out to Yelina, telling her soothingly, "Go ahead-cry if it'd make you feel better."  
Horatio took a look around the dining room table. Raymond and his friend had left the evidence of their misdeeds behind. He looked at the wine-cooler bottles; the brand –Tanique-was unfamiliar. Maybe Eric would know the brand. Horatio looked towards Raymond's room, then back towards Marisol. "Yelina," he said gently, "you stay with Marisol. I'm going to talk to Raymond myself." He headed towards his nephew's room while Marisol stayed to talk to Yelina.  
He knocked on the bedroom door—no answer. "Raymond!" Horatio called loudly through the closed door. Horatio tried the knob—the door was locked. He knocked again, louder this time. _"Raymond, open the door!"_ Horatio demanded in a voice that would accept no opposition.  
A few seconds later, the door opened. A scruffy-looking Raymond had been expecting his mother and more arguing, and he wasn't up for either. "Uncle Horatio! How long have you been here?"  
"Long enough to find out the trouble you're in," Horatio replied as he entered the cluttered bedroom and closed the door, leaning against the doorframe. "What's this about you and the alcohol?" Horatio asked.  
Raymond walked over to the window. "I told Mom that I didn't buy the alcohol—my friend brought it over," Raymond protested.  
"That doesn't matter, Raymond," Horatio countered, concern in his voice. "You're underage; you could have been arrested just for having it at all. Your mother is worried about you and very upset. Who's the friend?" he asked.  
"Why do you want to know that?" Raymond asked. Horatio noticed a growing restlessness and irritability, an edginess, in his nephew's voice.  
"Raymond," Horatio answered with a bit of anger in his voice, "your friend brought the alcohol, which tells me that someone is selling it to minors, or buying it for them. Either you can tell me how it got here, or I'll find out another way—but I will find out." Raymond, silently shaking his head, looked out his bedroom window. Horatio stood up—he sensed a troubling change in his nephew. He'd have to get the information from Yelina. "Think about what I said, Raymond. You are heading down a bad path." Horatio left Raymond to think about his warning and went back to the living room.

Horatio did get the information he needed from Yelina. He also carefully packaged the bottles and took them with him. He would have Maxine test them; perhaps DNA would give him more information about Raymond's friend.

_Next morning, at the lab,….._

Horatio carried the small box of Tanique Strawberry Wine Cooler bottles to the DNA lab for Maxine to check. He requested that the report be on his desk as soon as possible. Maxine went straight to work on the bottles.  
Horatio went to another lab and began several searches through the department databases for several things: stores recently been cited for selling alcohol to minors, people recently arrested for buying alcohol for minors, and minors arrested for trying to buy alcohol. "Bad enough what we get from the adults under the influ-ence,….," Horatio muttered unhappily to himself as he waited for his results. He was so preoccupied with what he was doing that he hadn't heard his brother-in-law enter the lab.  
"What's going on, H?" a concerned Eric asked.  
"Raymond has a very troubling new friend," Horatio replied. He explained what happened at Yelina's house  
the night before to Eric. "I'm waiting for Valera to finish with the bottles. I haven't seen the brand before, though. Have you heard of 'Tanique'?"  
"Raymond and alcohol? That doesn't sound good," Eric said, as the printers beeped. Eric picked up the reports from the printer. "Thirteen stores busted for selling alcohol to minors, twelve people arrested for buying for minors,…." Eric noticed a familiar name on the lists. "Well, look who's here! Albert Engleberg, one prior for buying for minors. And Bobblehead MiniMart for selling to minors."  
Horatio looked at the address for the mini-mart and frowned—right near Yelina's house and Raymond's school. The owner, Michael Davenberg, had two points against him within the last year for selling to minors; one more would result in the store's alcohol-license suspension.  
"I don't think there are many places selling Tanique, though—it's a pretty exclusive brand, mostly in the clubs," Eric noted. He entered the distributor's name and tried cross-referencing that list against all the stores and clubs in Miami. The resulting list yielded largely clubs—and Bobblehead Mini-Mart. Eric thought a visit to Mr. Davenberg was in order.  
A records check on Bob Gormanson followed: two priors for possession of stolen property. "Yelina said that Bob had rather large amounts of money for a young man," Horatio noted. Bob lived with his parents; Eric said that he and Natalia would talk to the Gormansons.

In the meantime, Ryan and Calleigh continued working on the Safe Haven burglaries. The burglary pattern didn't follow the usual order of compass points. The Bobbo's West store reopened, as Eric predicted, on the Friday after the burglary. If the South Beach Graham's was going to be hit, then it would be (according to the pattern) on December 10th. But oddly, December 10th came and went—and no burglary. _"Another quirk in the puzzle,"_ Eric thought. That left December 17th and December 24th—and the two radio stations were planning their big Christmas broadcast on December 19th from the South Beach Graham's, which didn't leave much time.  
Ryan, particularly, was curious as to how Albert Engleberg was able to get to all three crime scenes before the rest of the Miami media.


	4. Chapter 4

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 4—"Blast from the Past"**

An exhausted Raymond was laying on his bed after Horatio's visit. He simply wanted to just be left alone. He eventually drifted off to sleep.  
A sudden noise woke him out of a sound sleep. Rubbing the sleep out of his dark eyes, he wondered how the window had been opened. That question was forgotten when he saw WHO was in the room: his father—or someone who looked like his father—standing at the foot of the bed. Raymond bolted for the bedroom door; the visitor quickly moved between his son and the door. "And just where do you think you're going?" the visitor demanded. "Sit down, Raymond. We need to talk."  
Raymond thought he was dreaming. He asked tentatively, "Dad?"  
The visitor nodded, "Yes—now sit down so we can talk; I don't have much time." Raymond did as his father told him, while noting his appearance: the same sandy-colored hair and blue eyes-and lots of bruises. Ray's voice was full of remorse as he explained. "You're probably wondering what happened. Horatio sent the three of us—you, me, and your mother—off to Brazil so we could start over. The Malo Noches hate your uncle; they found out I was related to him. The bruises are from the beating they gave me. They beat me to death, Raymond—and I nearly got you killed, too." Ray Sr. continued. "Look, your uncle and your mother are trying to do what is best for you. You apparently didn't learn from what happened to me, so this is what's going to happen. I'll be back for you tomorrow—just after midnight on December 12th. There will be two more visitors after that—_listen to them_." With that, Ray Sr. dis-appeared, leaving a confused Raymond looking out his window. The young man finally shook his head, figuring the whole thing was some strange dream, closed the window, and went back to bed.

Horatio and Calleigh's visit to Albert Engleberg at WTLK-AM proved unproductive. Engleberg was being especially uncooperative, especially when Calleigh asked him how he managed to be at all of the crime scenes before the rest of the media.  
"You wouldn't talk to me before, my dear," Engleberg leaned back in his chair and smiled sweetly at Calleigh. "Now be a good detective and go dig up your own information!" Calleigh was not amused by Engleberg's attitude.  
Horatio, angered by Engleberg's insolence, walked towards the man. "Mr. Engleberg, you might be interested in ratings, but we are interested in getting some answers." By this point, Horatio was looking directly across the desk at Engleberg. Calleigh was amazed at Horatio's restraint, given the circumstances. Horatio asked Engleberg in a soft, but unmistakably icy tone, "Now, it's _your_ choice: you can either cooperate with us, or we can get a search warrant. Which will it be?"  
"Get the search warrant!" Engleberg snarled in reply.  
Engleberg watched the two CSIs from his office window as they left. Once they were gone, Engleberg then reached down and pulled some files from the back of a drawer, reviewing them briefly. He paused when he saw the picture of him, his wife and son. Engleberg grimaced when he thought about Irene, wondering why he had married her. Their courtship seemed to go well, but nothing in their married life seemed to go right, especially after Duncan was born. After that, so much of Irene's time seemed to be spent with their son, and so little with him.

Engleberg shoved the two-year-old memory to the back of his mind as he stuffed the picture back in the folder. His attention then turned to the rest of the folder's contents. The two Bonzo's stores had the metal doors—breaking the glass had been so much simpler. As long as his young assistant remembered to disable the alarms and cameras, then everything was according to plan. But he had to ask Bob about the two missing tools-pliers and screwdrivers weren't that hard to replace, but leaving evidence behind was dumb, a beginner's mistake. He called Bob on his cellphone to find out what happened.

The evening of December 12th was clear, but a little cold. Raymond had been keeping to himself since the argument. Since the next day was a Saturday, Raymond chose to stay up and listen to some music. It was almost midnight when he turned off the light and lay down. He was almost asleep when he heard a voice: _"Raymond! Wake up, we've got stuff to do!"  
_Raymond sat up and looked around—there was his dad, right at the foot of the bed. "You ready to go, son?" Ray Sr. asked.  
"Go? Go where?" Raymond asked.  
"Back to our past," replied his father.  
Raymond thought this was quite absurd—one couldn't go back and change what happened. "Look, we can't change anything, so what's the point?" he asked, burrowing under his blankets.  
Ray expected resistance. He solved that problem by simply walking over to the side of the bed and pulling his protesting son out. "We're going now!" he said sternly, pulling a resisting Raymond over to the window. "And you're not going to fall, Raymond—just take my hand and don't argue," he told his son.

The pair first went back to when Raymond was a small child. Three adults were watching a little boy play with his Christmas presents in a cluttered living room. A puzzled Raymond asked his father, "Who are all these people?"  
"Raymond, you don't recognize them? There's your mother and me, and your Uncle Horatio. There you are, as a small boy," Ray replied, pointing out the small boy with the toy cars. "You were so trusting of us then," Ray commented sadly.  
The scene spun forward to the same house, but a different time. This time, it was occupied by a very-upset Yelina, Horatio and a slightly-older Raymond. Two men in dress-blue uniforms were also present—Raymond recognized one as a police chaplain.  
Ray continued, "Look what I had, Raymond! I was so stupid-I had a family who loved me—_and I threw it all away!_ I believed that I was doing good by going undercover—and all I did was get into trouble because of the drugs."  
Father and son were soon at a meth lab Ray had been to while alive. Several people were engaged in odd sorts of frenetic activity—and Raymond saw his father with some meth. "See," Ray said, "this is what happened to me before I was caught-I got hooked on the stuff. That's why you and your mother didn't see me."  
The scene changed again with lightning-speed to the moment when Horatio and Eric had found a dying Ray in Rio. "I died, and your mother was widowed, _because of my bad choices_." Ray turned a solemn warning gaze on his son, "If you keep on with what you're doing, it will also happen to you."  
Just as quickly as they had arrived in Rio, father and son were back home. "Your next visitor will be here at midnight. Remember, do what he tells you to do," Ray told his son. He left a stunned Raymond sitting on the edge of his bed to think about what he had seen.


	5. Chapter 5

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 5—"Surprises"**

Bobbo's West Beach Store was open for business on December 5th. The team figured that the South Beach Graham's Goodies should have been (according to the pattern) hit on December 10th. But December 10th came and went—and nothing happened. The team thought that there might be a reason for this—but couldn't pin one down. That left December 17th and Christmas Eve. There was also a change for the big Christmas broadcast on De-cember 19th—it would be from two locations this year: one from the South Beach Graham's and one from the North Shore Bonzo's. It was now December 13th. That didn't leave much time to find the burglar.

Frank had decided to have lunch at a little shop near the South Beach Graham's on his way back from talking to someone else. While he was enjoying his soup, he saw Ryan. Frank chuckled when he saw what the young CSI had in his hand—a big bag of assorted Graham's Goodies lollipops. "Their treats are very popular in the lab—just can't keep enough of them," Ryan explained to Frank.  
"Yeah, and I'll bet you're having quite a few yourself!" Frank noted.  
"Guilty as charged! Arrest me!" a laughing Ryan confessed as he unwrapped a butterscotch lollipop. He even offered some of his "evidence" to Frank, who shook his head with laughter as he turned it down.  
As they walked back to Ryan's Hummer, something caught Ryan's attention—the arrival of Engleberg's minivan. The blue minivan he had seen at Bonzo's West had just pulled into a parking spot underneath South Beach Plaza, near Ryan's Hummer. Ryan explained to Frank about how the reporter had arrived at the three crime scenes before the rest of the media. The two decided to wait till Engleberg was away from the vehicle. Ryan grabbed his flashlight and digital camera—here was a prime chance to find out Engleberg's secret.  
Engleberg, looking cautiously around him, exited the vehicle and started walking away. "You'd think he had enemies," Frank noticed.  
"Yeah, well, Calleigh said that he makes his living making other people angry," Ryan explained.  
Engleberg walked towards the sandwich place that Frank had recently visited. He and Frank walked towards the vehicle as soon as Engleberg was well away. The locked doors didn't stop Ryan from looking through the window with a flashlight. Ryan made quick work of looking around the inside as Frank looked around the outside. Ryan's curiosity was soon rewarded: Engleberg had a high-powered police scanner mounted in the dashboard. "Hey, I thought these things were illegal!" Ryan said as he took digital pictures of the scanner and the outside of the vehicle.  
Frank walked over to see what had caught Ryan's interest. "Yeah, they're _supposed_ to be illegal. Tyler might know if the media got a pass on those." The two were walking towards Frank's car as Engleberg re-entered the parking area. He quickly entered his vehicle and even more quickly drove away, not noticing the nearby Hummer. Engleberg had not, however, escaped the notice of the two detectives. Frank headed to another call; Ryan headed back to the lab to talk to Tyler.

Horatio was in his office, reading Maxine's report on the Tanique bottles. All the DNA results showed was that the bottles had been handled by Bob Gormanson and Raymond. Horatio closed his eyes, wondering how he was going to deal with his nephew.  
Eric and Natalia's first stop was to Bobblehead Mini-Mart. Michael Davenberg, the owner, wasn't happy about the police visit. When shown pictures of the two minors and Albert Engleberg, Davenberg recognized Engleberg as the person who bought the Tanique—but claimed that he didn't know that his customer was going to give it to minors.  
Eric noticed something different about the store. "Not one security camera in the place," he told Natalia.  
"So much for video evidence," Natalia replied unhappily. "It's our word against Davenberg's."  
After that, Eric and Natalia headed to the Gormanson house. Mrs. Gormanson was more cooperative, but exasperated by her son's behavior. "Bob's father is out of town often—and sometimes, Bob doesn't even listen to him," she told the two CSIs. When asked if she knew anything about how Bob was getting such large amounts of money, Mrs. Gormanson shook her head. "He goes out in the early evening and isn't even home when I go to bed."  
With Mrs. Gormanson's permission, Eric and Natalia carefully searched Bob's room. Eric found a small toolbox under the bed; a quick check revealed two empty spaces: one each for pliers and a screwdriver. "Exactly what Ryan found at the second Bonzo's," Eric remembered.  
Natalia had found a folder on Bob's table: exact diagrams of each of the three burglarized stores. There was also a phone number and initials written on the front of the folder. Natalia tried dialing the number; it was a cellphone number. When Eric asked what Natalia had found, she showed him the folder. "Who's "RAE"?" she asked.  
Eric dialed the number and heard the same outgoing message that Natalia had heard. "Albert Engleberg," he said. "He was probably able to be at all of the crime scenes so early because he's in on the burglaries. 'Albert' might be his middle name; we can check the drivers' license database for that."  
"Engleberg's probably drafted Bob as an accomplice. School is still in session for just over another week yet," Natalia noted. "That's where we should find Bob." Eric called for a patrol car to pick up Bob Gormanson.

Albert Engleberg pushed himself away from his desk-lunchtime. That little sandwich shop he'd been frequenting lately-near the South Beach Graham's Goodies-was the perfect spot for two reasons. Their soup-and-sandwich special was only one of them.  
The little shop was also close enough to the store for another reason. It allowed Albert to do some careful observation and planning- unknown to and unseen by the family who had turned him away two years ago. Albert saw Rose take Duncan to the nearby florist. Rose hadn't changed much, Albert noted, but Duncan was a bit taller than when he had last seen him. _"The whole family's probably spoiling him miserably,"_ Albert thought unhappily as he ate his soup.  
But just as Albert was about to take another bite of chowder, another person caught his attention: that blond-haired detective who wouldn't talk to him at Bobbo's, coming out of the candy store. She looked so much like Irene. _"Ah, maybe she wasn't dead, after all,"_ Albert thought. He quickly compared her to the lady in his wallet-sized family picture. Yes, that was it—perhaps Irene wasn't dead. But Albert wondered where she had been all this time.  
His mind drifted back to the time when he had his family,…..


	6. Chapter 6

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 6—"A Bitter Memory"**

Albert Engleberg was at South Beach Plaza—but it was not for Christmas-shopping. He couldn't see the point of the holiday after Irene's family shut him out. The little sandwich shop he chose was right near the South Beach Graham's Goodies. His brother-in-law, Ian, ran the store; Ian had gained custody of Duncan after Irene's death. Albert bitterly remembered the events of two years ago as he ate his lunch…..

Albert—_Robert_, as he had been known then-had needed to teach Irene a lesson when she had forgotten her priorities again. Irene claimed she had been at a friend's house; Robert had suspected that her "friend" was a lover. Young Duncan had tried to protect his mother; Robert had shoved Duncan across the room into a wall. That was when Ian and David had arrived at the house.  
Outraged at the treatment of his terrified sister and nephew, Ian called the police and had Robert arrested. Then David, Irene's father, had the audacity to contact the Grahams' family lawyer for a temporary re-straining order. The order was handed to Robert upon his release from jail. Ian and David had Robert's things packed and sent to a nearby hotel while Robert was away. Robert was ordered to remain away from the family pending a further hearing.  
Two nights later, Robert had driven back to the house where he was made so unwelcome. He waited until Ian and Rose had left. Robert didn't know if he had a chance at reconciliation, but he was willing to risk jail trying. What he didn't know was that David and Ian had changed all of the locks after Robert had been arrested. When Robert discovered this, he became angry and kicked the door in. Irene ran for the phone, but Robert was faster. Irene was severely injured when Robert was done—but not before Robert had taken several blows himself.  
Robert had then noticed that his then-ten-year-old son had seen and heard _everything._ Robert was going to take Duncan with him, but Irene's screams had alerted the neighbors, foiling that plan. Robert ran out to his car and quickly left, leaving a confused and scared Duncan. Unknown to Robert, Duncan had called 911, then simply sat and waited quietly till the police came. The police, of course, wanted to talk to Robert, but he was already long gone. Duncan was sent to live with Ian and Rose.  
Albert's thoughts returned to the present as he finished his soup. Time had healed the physical wounds and changed his appearance a bit. Working out and a new job had helped, too. He doubted that any of the Grahams would recognize him. But Albert was determined to have his son back—even if he had to go up against Ian again to do it.

Ryan later told Horatio and Calleigh what he saw at the Plaza. Tyler, after a careful study of Ryan's pictures and further checking, told them that the high-powered scanner Ryan had seen in Engleberg's vehicle was indeed illegal for civilians, including the media. "So that's how he's been finding out!" Calleigh said.  
Eric and Natalia couldn't question Bob Gormanson just yet—his parents wanted a lawyer present. The young man had been sent to a holding cell for the time being while the evidence gathered from his house stayed at the lab.  
That evening, in an apartment not far from the South Beach Plaza, a thin, sandy-haired man waited and planned a family reunion of sorts for December 17th, after the South Beach Graham's closing. Albert would pay a visit to his brother-in-law—and get his son back. Albert knew that the detectives had been to the Gormanson house from the news; he figured that Bob was being questioned. All Albert could do was hope that Bob kept quiet; otherwise, Albert's chances of getting what he wanted would slide away forever.  
And that blond-haired detective who wouldn't talk to him—she was Irene! She wasn't dead, after all—just hiding out under a different name with a new job! That would also explain that one detective who got in his way; Albert would deal with him later, after getting Irene and Duncan back. Albert had sent a bouquet of a dozen red roses in a glass vase to her that afternoon, carefully writing out his message, but not signing the card: _"Merry Christmas—and don't think I've forgotten you!" _

The flowers arrived at the lab later in the day. Calleigh was delighted, thinking they were from Eric—until she saw the card.  
Eric wondered who was sending flowers to Calleigh-especially with an unsigned card. The florist didn't remember much about the sender just then—only that the purchaser was a male who paid cash. Eric carefully put the flowers in another container and carefully worked on getting some prints from the vase and card.  
Horatio also saw the card and flowers, and it reminded him of another case…a two-year-old case and a scared little boy. He headed to the evidence locker for a particular case file, then retrieved the card from Eric and asked Natalia to meet him in the Questioned Documents lab.


	7. Chapter 7

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 7—"Christmas Present"**

The evening of December 12th was another cool evening. School was in session for another week; Raymond wasn't overly concerned about homework. He looked forward to the break. He laying on his bed again, listening to his IPod. He eventually drifted off to sleep, forgetting all about the visitor his father had warned him about.  
Just as the house clock chimed midnight, a large motorcycle rolled almost noiselessly into the room. The second visitor shut off the engine and let the bike roll through the window. Once stopped, he took off his helmet and dismounted, leaning the bike on its kickstand. Then he walked over to Raymond and tried to wake him, getting no response. Then the visitor saw what the problem was and smiled, shaking his head in amusement. After carefully removing the IPod and setting it on the desk, the visitor slipped to the head of the bed, tipping the mattress sideways just enough,….  
**KER-THUMP!** A startled Raymond woke up in a jumble of blankets on the floor at the other side of the bed. He looked around in confusion—then he saw the bike and wondered how THAT got in his room. Seeing the rider in front of him, Raymond looked up and thought he recognized him. "Tim Speedle?" Raymond asked in disbelief.  
"Yeah, you were expecting the Tooth Fairy?" Speedle answered as he pulled Raymond to his feet and handed him a helmet. "Here, get on behind me. We've got some places to go to." Raymond started to protest, but Speed warned him as he mounted the bike, "Look, your dad told you to do what you were told. Now put the helmet on and let's go!" Raymond reluctantly put the helmet on and got on behind Speedle, who rolled the bike out through the window. He started the engine only after clearing the windowsill.  
Once aloft, Raymond thought that he wasn't going to live to see morning-Speedle was flying like a madman through traffic! Looking in the bike's rear-view mirror and seeing the look on Raymond's face, Speed asked him, "What are you worried about? I'm not going to hit anything!" Raymond wasn't exactly convinced of that after Speedle zoomed between a couple of large delivery trucks.

Their first stop: the home of Susie Keaton and her daughter, Madison, Raymond's half-sister. "Why are we here?" Raymond asked as he watched Madison and her mother curled up on the couch.  
"Because," Tim replied, "I wanted you to remember _something good _you did." Raymond thought for a few minutes; Speedle soon saw the light of recognition in the young man's eyes. "Yeah—the bone-marrow transplant. YOU," Speedle pointed at Raymond, "saved Madison's life—you were the only one who could do that. No one else could do that—your dad wasn't there; Susie, your mom and your uncle didn't match."  
Raymond continued to watch as Susie carried a sleepy Madison—who was doing much better-off to bed. Speedle nudged him, saying, "We've got a few more places to go." Back on the bike, and it was off to the home of David and Katie Graham. Here, the scene was considerably different.  
David and Katie were home. Their son and daughter-in-law, Ian and Rose, were also there. Raymond's attention was drawn to a twelve-year-old boy. The boy was very quiet and sad as he looked at a picture of his family. Ian watched the young man with concern; the young man simply looked up at Ian and smiled. Then he ran over and gave Rose a hug—but there were a sadness in her eyes that she tried to hide.  
Raymond was confused. "Speed, where are we? Why are we here? How come the people the boy lives with now aren't the people in the picture?"  
"Duncan," Speed explained, "lives with his uncle and aunt because his father beat his mother to death. His family tries their best to help Duncan deal with the grief, but it's hard for them and him. Duncan knows what happened, but he hasn't been able to even _talk_ about it. You've lost your father, but you still have your mother—_he's lost both father and mother."_ Speed let Raymond think about that as they watched the family for a short while longer, then the two took another ride.

This ride was back to Raymond's house, but the time and perspective were different—the day of the last argument with his mother. Raymond and Speed watched as Yelina told Horatio and Marisol about what had happened. Raymond tried to tell his mother not to cry—but no one in the room could hear him, except Speed. Speedle put a hand on Raymond's shoulder when he saw tears in the young man's eyes. "Ah, I think the light's coming on here: the choices you're making can help—or hurt—those around you."  
Fast-forward again, and Raymond was back in his own room; Speedle was about to leave. "I suggest thinking about what we've talked about while you're waiting for your last visitor," Speedle said as he got on his bike. "He's coming at midnight tomorrow." Speedle rolled the bike out through the window, revved the engine, and was quickly gone.  
Raymond ran over and closed the window-he didn't want any more visitors. It was just as he was going back to bed when he noticed something on his nightstand: a small white paper bag. Raymond looked at it: Graham's Goodies; the bag was full of their little chocolates. He didn't remember buying anything from there. Then he saw the heart-shaped note taped to the bag: _I love you, mi hijo. I want to __talk __about what happened. Love, Mama."_


	8. Chapter 8

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 8—"Roses, Information, and Waiting"**

The vase's glass surface was smooth enough for Eric to find several prints. However, the prints belonged to a variety of people: the florist, the delivery person, the lab receptionist, and Calleigh. But there were a few prints with no name; it was those prints that Eric was waiting for the computer to identify. After several minutes and several thousand print comparisons, the computer returned a match: Robert Albert Engelberg. Eric remembered the name from the list of those arrested for purchasing alcohol for minors. The picture was the same as that of the reporter who had been at Bobbo's. Deciding to pay the florist a, Eric printed the information and hoped that the picture would help the florist's memory.  
While Eric was waiting to finish with the prints, Ryan had found more information about Albert Engleberg's scanner, including the source: a mail-order company in Orlando. Unfortunately, Engleberg's receipt showed that he had ordered the scanner just before the ban went into effect. Ryan was worried-would they would be able to use the pictures as evidence? He hoped that there was plenty of other evidence, just in case they couldn't.

Eric and Ryan headed to the florist. Ryan noticed the layout of the area from a different angle than from his previous visit: the address on the card showed that the florist was in the same plaza as Graham's Goodies and the sandwich shop. "This is where I saw Engleberg the other day. Frank and I saw Engleberg pull in there," pointing towards the parking area.  
Ryan and Eric entered the flower shop; the shop's quiet and the fragrance of various flowers a welcome change from the noise outside. The manager, seeing the two detectives, asked if they were looking for anything special. Eric identified himself and Ryan as police and asked to see the florist who took the order for Engleberg's roses. The manager looked in the back of the shop, and the young man soon appeared.  
Eric showed the florist his pictures of the vase and Engleberg, asking if he had seen the man. The young florist studied the picture of Engelberg, thought for a moment, and nodded. "That's him. Asked for a dozen red roses and chose the vase himself. An all-cash transaction," the florist replied. "And he was very particular about the card, too. He wanted everything just right. Maybe he wanted to surprise his wife?" the florist asked.  
The two detectives thanked the florist and were about to leave. Then suddenly, Eric turned. Calleigh was going to have roses—but Eric didn't like knowing that his apparent competition was their most-likely burglary suspect. Ryan looked puzzled as Eric made his purchase of two dozen red roses, some just starting to open. When Eric saw Ryan's confused look, he laughed. "What? I need a reason to give Calleigh some flowers?"

Horatio was in the Questioned Documents lab with Natalia. The case file they had was that for Irene Graham Engleberg. Horatio and Natalia compared the notes from Albert Engleberg from that file to the handwriting on the florist's card. They looked at several samples of Engleberg's handwriting from the original file before Natalia spotted most of the phrase from the florist's card on a letter to Irene: _"….and don't think I've forgotten you!"_  
"A match—Engleberg's handwriting on the card," Horatio said. "Robert is Engleberg's first name—he's been using his middle name-'Albert'—as a professional name and alias.  
"Looks like that and a two-year absence allowed him to avoid suspicion. So why would he send flowers to Calleigh?" Natalia asked. Then she remembered and partially answered her own question: "Bonzo's West—Engleberg tried to talk to Calleigh then, and she ignored him."  
Eric and Ryan soon returned from the florist's shop. Each told Horatio what they had found, Ryan expressing his doubts about the scanner pictures. "Well, if we can't use the scanner pictures, we just found out who sent Calleigh the roses," Horatio replied. He showed Eric and Ryan the handwriting samples he and Natalia had been comparing.

Eric's phone rang. "Delko," he answered. "Oh, great, we'll be right there. Thanks!" and hung up. "Good news—Bob Gormanson wants to talk. Let's hope he has something useful to say."  
Ten minutes later, Eric and Ryan were sitting at a table with Bob Gormanson, his father, and their lawyer. "Bob, are you _sure_ you want to do this?" his father asked him.  
"You've asked me that already, Dad-_I'm sure_. I have to do this—the guy is bonkers!" Bob Gormanson was quite serious. He also looked to Eric and Ryan as if he hadn't slept very well.  
The two CSIs looked at each other, then Ryan asked, "_'This guy'_—would that be Albert Engleberg?"  
Bob replied, "Yes—he did the planning; I did the work. He gave me the diagrams of the buildings, I did the jobs. He got on my case big-time for leaving the tools behind; he called it a beginner's mistake."  
"We've noticed that you didn't exactly follow the points on a compass. Did Engleberg mention anything to you about a burglary in the south?" Eric asked.  
"He has one planned—but he's never mentioned where or when," Bob said. "I never found out where I was going until I got the diagrams. But he did talk occasionally—when he thought I didn't hear him—about some people. 'Irene' and 'Duncan'—and an 'Ian.' I don't know who any of them are," Bob said, shaking his head. He rubbed his eyes, then reached for a cup of water. "He did say that there was one job he wanted to do himself. This might be the one,…."  
Both Ryan and Eric could see, from looking at Bob's eyes, that the young man hadn't slept well while in lockup—if he had slept at all. Bob was indeed cooperating; Eric noted that for the State's Attorney's office. Bob Gormanson was released to his parents' custody.

Horatio and Natalia listened to this conversation from the other side of the window. From what they were hearing, they were getting an idea of where the next target would be—but they didn't know the all-important when. The other piece of the puzzle was how Calleigh fit into it all—she wasn't related to the Grahams at all.  
Natalia looked in the file again, finding a copy of the family portrait. She did a computer comparison of an age-enhanced picture of Irene to a current one of Calleigh—and found that Calleigh bore quite a resemblance to Irene Engleberg.  
Horatio, seeing this, ordered extra patrols around the Grahams' houses, both Graham's stores, and Calleigh's house. Then he asked Frank to get search warrants for Engleberg's office and home. Natalia took her printouts and explained her findings to the rest of the team.  
Remembering the pattern, Horatio decided to see if Engleberg would show up at the South Beach Graham's on December 17th. The store would be open till 8 pm, closing early to get ready for the Bonzo's broadcast two days later. The east store was staying on holiday hours.

It was now late afternoon on December 15th—just over a day of waiting. All the team could do was wait, plan, and review. But Horatio would not be caught out—or have his any of his team caught unprepared for a possibly-unpredictable suspect. His plan called for Calleigh to be at the South Beach store near closing on the 17th. The Grahams were warned of the possible danger. From what Bob Gormanson was telling them, Engleberg thought that Calleigh was a still-living Irene—and was willing to confront his brother-in-law to get Duncan back.


	9. Chapter 9

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 9—"Christmas Future (Part 1)"**

The relationship between Yelina and Raymond was starting to improve, although there were still a few rough times. Yelina was puzzled, but pleased by the subtle changes in her son. Raymond was still quiet, but there was less of the rebelliousness. He was also home more, keeping busy around the house. Yelina tried to find out what had brought these changes about, but couldn't—but she praised her son often for the good things he did, hoping to encourage him. _"Whatever or whoever it is that's helping Raymond, thank God for it,"_ Yelina thought. Bob Gormanson was still banished from Yelina's house. In fact, Raymond hadn't seen Bob at all lately.  
The evening of December 13th came—another cool evening. Raymond was in his room again, getting his school things together. He found himself thinking often of other things, especially Madison,…..

As the living-room clock chimed midnight on December 14th, a large black motorcycle rolled into Raymond's room. Its large rider, dressed in black, shut off the engine and dismounted, leaning the bike on its kickstand. Raymond was awake and waiting this time. The rider removed his helmet, revealing a battered face, and nodded approvingly. "Good—you're awake!" he growled as he tossed a spare helmet to Raymond.  
"Who are _you_?" Raymond asked warily.  
"Bob Keaton-your father's partner when he was working for the Feds," he replied. "It's time, young man, to discuss your future. The future you MIGHT have." Keaton put his helmet back on and got back on his bike, waiting for Raymond. Wondering what this new visitor might do if he even _tried_ arguing, Raymond quietly put on the helmet and got on the bike.

Their first stop was Raymond's house—but the times and circumstances were completely different. It was a dazzlingly-bright spring morning—the front yard was bursting with flowers. It took Raymond a few minutes to adjust to the sudden change. Bob parked the bike near the house; he and Raymond walked inside and leaned a-gainst a living-room wall. The two were unseen by those gathered in the room.  
Gathered together was Raymond's immediate and extended family: Yelina, Horatio and Marisol, Eric, Susie and Madison, and Kyle. Raymond noticed that his mother had been crying; she now sat looking through a window, with Horatio sitting beside her. Kyle was trying to console a sobbing Madison; Eric was comforting Marisol. Susie was sadly looking through some pictures on the coffee table.  
Raymond looked over Susie's shoulder. The pictures she was seeing were pictures of him at various stages of his life. Some of those pictures were with his parents, some with Uncle Horatio or another relative, or school pictures. He'd seen many of the pictures before. Raymond's yearbooks lay neatly stacked on a nearby table. Raymond asked, "Bob, why is everyone here, and why are they all so upset?"  
"I told you, Raymond, _this is YOUR future_—if you continue on the path you're on," Bob explained. "You're dead, and your family is grieving."  
**"WHAT?"** Raymond tried to run over to his mother—but Bob grabbed his arm.  
"_Forget it—nobody here can see or hear us._ You're dead because of those bad choices you made. Remember the alcohol your mother was so upset about?" Bob asked Raymond, who quietly nodded. "Well," Bob continued, "you kept on with that, and you decided to drive yourself home one day. You had several too many at a party and plowed your car into a cement barrier."  
Back on the bike, and the two were soon at the scene of a terrible traffic accident. A small car was smashed into a concrete barrier near a park in a late-afternoon accident. Several patrol units were already at the scene; a Hummer soon arrived. Raymond could see Calleigh and Ryan exit the vehicle and begin to survey the damage.  
Calleigh, kit in hand, was first to walk over to the vehicle. She took one look inside and recognized the driver. "Oh, no! NO!" she cried.  
Ryan, who had been looking at the skid marks, heard Calleigh and looked up at her. "Calleigh?" When he saw the look on her face, he asked, "Calleigh? Who is it, Calleigh?" He ran over to see what was wrong.

Calleigh pointed towards the car and answered between muffled sobs, _"It's Raymond, Ryan, he's dead!"  
__**"WHAT?"**_ A disbelieving Ryan looked inside. He quickly felt for a pulse, and found none. Raymond's head had hit the windshield; it appeared that he had died on impact. Ryan was shaking as he took out his cellphone to contact Alexx; he thought, _"How are we going to tell Yelina? Horatio and Marisol? Or Eric?"_  
While Ryan contacted Alexx, a shaken Calleigh contacted Eric. "Eric, you'd better come down for this…it's Raymond. I don't know how we'll tell Horatio and Yelina," she explained between sobs.

From a nearby wall, Bob and Raymond watched as Raymond's lifeless body was extracted from the car, then attended to by a shaken Alexx. Eric, who had arrived just as Alexx had started, made a formal identification for her. Then he tried to comfort his shaken teammates, telling them, "I'll tell H about this myself, then we'll tell Yelina." Eric finally contacted the night-shift CSIs to finish processing the scene for his shaken teammates. Eric absolutely dreaded having to tell Horatio and Yelina what had happened.  
Bob and Raymond were back on the bike and soon in Alexx' autopsy theater. They stood, unseen, near the team. Horatio felt as if someone had hit him with a truck when he saw what happened. Eric held a weeping Calleigh. Ryan looked rather dazed, as if he were in shock. Alexx insisted on performing the autopsy herself. Then Horatio quietly gave Alexx a long hug.  
Then the scene flash-forwarded to Yelina's house, where Horatio and Eric had gone to tell Yelina what had happened. A distraught Yelina was crying in disbelief and denial. _"First my husband, and now my son?"_ she cried in anguish. Horatio held a crying Yelina for a long while; he was feeling just as distraught as his sister-in-law.  
"You see now?" Bob asked a stunned Raymond. He nudged the young man, but got no response. Bob pushed Raymond towards the bike, and they were soon off to another time and place,…..


	10. Chapter 10

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 10—"Christmas Future" (Part 2)"**

Bob and Raymond arrived at St. Margaret's, a church near Raymond's house. Bob parked the bike in a nearby lot and took Raymond inside the sanctuary. The late-morning sunshine filled the sanctuary through the stained-glass windows, and the air was filled with the scent of candles and incense. Raymond's attention was drawn to what was at the front—a flower-covered casket. A picture was mounted on a nearby easel—Raymond was shocked to see that the picture was of him! He slowly walked up to the casket, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. Bob stood at the steps as Raymond walked alone, looking at the displays and cards.  
The young man was shocked to read the cards—"In loving memory of Raymond," "Dear Yelina, our deepest sym-pathy." He looked at Bob in stunned disbelief. Bob nodded, "Yeah, Raymond—your funeral is about to happen here." He took Raymond over to one side as the family, relatives, and friends began to arrive.  
Horatio, Marisol, Eric, Calleigh, and Yelina arrived early. Most stopped off to light a candle and pray. Horatio's colleagues all came. Ryan arrived with Tyler; Frank brought Natalia and Maxine. Alexx arrived with her family. Kyle brought Susie and Madison. Even Raymond's teachers and friends came.  
Among the arriving mourners were Rick Stetler and Jake Berekley. Raymond remembered that Rick had been with his mother years ago, just before his uncle had found out that his father was still alive. Raymond hadn't liked Rick much; all the young man could remember of Jake was that he used to be with Calleigh.

Rick was hesitant, unsure if either Horatio or Yelina would want to see him. Rick, because of his Internal Affairs duties, normally didn't get on well with Horatio. But he had dated Yelina at one time and had tried to get on with Raymond then. He carefully extracted two lilies from his bouquet, then set the bouquet down near the casket. Rick then stepped back and bowed his head, reflecting for a few moments on what might have been. Then he quietly walked to Horatio and his family, still uncertain of what his reception would be.  
"Horatio? Yelina?" Rick asked quietly. Both turned to face Rick, as did Eric and Marisol. Rick gave Yelina one solitary lily and gave the other to Marisol. Then he asked with sadness in his voice, "I'm very sorry about Raymond, Yelina. Is there _anything_ you need?" Rick, looking into Yelina's dark eyes, seemed to be at a loss for words beyond that.  
Yelina quietly replied, "No, there isn't at the moment, but thank you for coming, Rick." Horatio and Eric quietly thanked Rick for coming.  
Jake was next; he brought flowers and a card that was placed near all the other bouquets. He looked at Raymond's picture and closed his eyes, unable to make sense of the loss. Jake then walked up to the family and bowed his head. Eric and Calleigh, seeing the pained look in Jake's eyes, understood what Jake wanted to say—if only he just could find the words. Instead, Jake shook his head, reached out his hand to Yelina and said sadly, "I'm sorry." Then he gave Yelina a hug—Yelina thought she saw tears in Jake's eyes. Jake then turned to Horatio and the rest of the family, offering his condolences to each member.  
The service soon started. Each of Raymond's family spoke of the loving relative they would miss. Susie, with Madison at her side, spoke of how Raymond had given of himself to save his half-sister. Some of Raymond's school friends spoke of the good and bad things they had done with him, of how his death had affected them.  
Through it all, Yelina and Marisol wept quietly. Yelina seemed so very lost. Horatio felt as if someone had torn a huge gash in his soul—Raymond had been his only nephew. Kyle and Madison were his only blood relatives now, un-less he and Marisol had children. Eric sat with Calleigh; he held her hand and she rested her head on his shoulder. Kyle sat with Susie and Madison, Kyle holding Madison when she began to cry.  
The priest was praying for the soul of the deceased and his family. Bob could see that Raymond was having a rough time of it—but there was one more thing that had to be done for the young man to fully understand. "One more place, Raymond," Bob said softly as they slipped out through a side door,…..

Fast-forward again, but not far this time-to nearby St. Margaret's Cemetery. The family was near another gravesite—that of Ray Sr. Raymond saw the headstone, next to his father's, with his own name and dates on it. "THIS is what's going to happen to me?" he asked Bob in shock and disbelief.  
"Only," Bob said, "if you keep making the bad choices you're making, Raymond. _None_ of this—your death, the funeral, or this scene in the cemetery—has happened yet. And it doesn't have to."  
"NO! I don't want it to happen!" Raymond kept shouting at Bob. All of a sudden, a dazed Raymond awoke…in his own room.…in his own bed. He sat up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and hoped his mother hadn't heard him shouting at four in the morning. But Raymond couldn't go back to sleep—Bob's words and what he had seen kept rumbling around Raymond's mind, a loop of sound and vision that just would not go away.


	11. Chapter 11

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 11-"Mistletoe Madness"**

The nervous dayshift team waited in the late-afternoon hours on December 17th. Calleigh and Natalia reviewed Irene Engleberg's file in preparation for the evening. The extra patrols Horatio ordered were in place; a hostage negotiator and medics would also be present as a precaution.  
The search warrants for Engleberg's office and home had been issued. The information provided what Bob Gormanson had described to Eric and Ryan—as well as new information: a diagram of the South Beach Graham's and a group picture of Engleberg's family: Albert, Irene, and Duncan. Horatio hoped that the evening's events would bring closure to the family—especially for Duncan.

The South Beach store would be open till 8 pm; Calleigh would arrive a half-hour early. Ian and Rose had been notified of the plan in advance. Horatio's instructions to Calleigh were simple: "Be watchful; take your time on selection, but make your actual choices closer to closing time." Calleigh would have her phone on, but hidden; she would also be wearing a listening device to record any conversations between her and a possibly-unstable Engleberg. Listening devices had been placed within the store after closing the day before, but weren't activated till that evening.  
At the appointed time, Calleigh calmly entered the store. Her teammates, along with several patrol units, were in various places around the store perimeter. Horatio, Eric, and Tyler would be listening in a nearby van.  
Calleigh carefully chose her treats, with an occasional sample from Ian or Rose, and occasionally talked with other customers. Duncan was nowhere to be seen. At 7:55 pm, just as Calleigh made her final selections (a generous amount, some of everything—including lollipops), a thin, sandy-haired man dressed in a heavy coat entered the store and waited in a corner. Frank, whose vantage point from the street gave him a view of the entire store interior, alerted everyone.  
Calleigh, the very last customer in the store, paid Rose for her treats and wished her a Merry Christmas. Then Calleigh turned and walked towards one door and stopped for a moment, rearranging her purchases. Ian walked out from the back, smiled at everyone, and prepared to lock the second door. Ian had just reached for the door when he heard an icy, menacing baritone behind him: "Ian! Merry Christmas! So good to see you again!"  
Ian quickly turned; the first thing he saw was the shocked look on Rose's face. He asked, "Rose, what's—," but then he saw what scared her: Irene's husband had returned. "Robert?" Ian asked. Rose began to move slowly towards the back storage area.  
Robert Albert Engleberg calmly produced a gun and pointed it at Ian. "Where is my son, Ian?" Engleberg snarled. "You and David decided I shouldn't see my family. You didn't have any right to do that!"  
"That restraining order was only temporary, Robert—we only did that for Irene and Duncan's protection," Ian was trying to calmly reason with an unreasonable person. "Had you been a little more reasonable and came to the hearing, we might have worked things out. You and Irene might have worked things out! Now Irene—who loved you so much—she is dead. Duncan is staying with us, where he's safe."  
It was while Ian was speaking that Engleberg caught a look in the security mirror—and saw Calleigh. Engleberg turned towards her…. "Irene?" he said in surprise. "Irene, you're not dead after all!" he exclaimed joyfully.  
Calleigh thought quickly, _"This man's not in his right mind!"_ Remembering what Natalia had told her, she'd have to go along with Engleberg's delusion until the team made their move. "Robert? After all these years?"

Eric groaned—here he was, out in a van, and Calleigh was in there, dealing with a madman! Eric raged at himself in Spanish, thinking that he should have gone with Calleigh. Horatio, seeing Eric's frustration, put a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Patience, Eric-let's see what happens. We don't want Engleberg doing anything drastic."

Engleberg continued talking to Calleigh. He asked, "Irene, where have you been all this time? I've missed you terribly!" He reached out to her, putting the gun back in his pocket, allowing her to believe he was actually looking for reconciliation. Then he'd decide what to do about her absence and that other man. "Come on," Engleberg told Calleigh quietly, "let's get our son and we'll go start over somewhere. A little vacation, maybe." "I think Duncan's with his grandparents," Calleigh replied calmly, edging away from Engleberg a bit. "Isn't he, Rose?"  
Rose nodded, "Yes, I believe he's still with his grandparents." At that point, the door to the back storage area opened. Duncan appeared from the back entrance, well behind the counter. "Dad? Dad, is that you?" Duncan asked, looking confusedly at Engleberg. "Oh, no!" Rose and Calleigh both thought.  
Ian was determined to keep Duncan out of his former brother-in-law's grasp—even if he had to put himself in harm's way to do it.

Horatio and Eric heard everything; Horatio warned, "Everyone be ready, and use caution-we have a minor inside." Then he gave the signal to Frank to have the officers surround the store.  
"Irene," Engleberg said impatiently, "get Duncan and let's go!"  
"We need to get his jacket and things, Robert. It's much too cold out for him." Calleigh was stalling for time now; she needed to get the family out of the way. "Rose, could you please help me get Duncan's things?"  
"Of course, dear!" Rose replied nervously. As Calleigh, Duncan, and Rose headed for the back, Engleberg shouted, "And no more tricks, Irene—or I'm coming back there!"  
"No, Robert!" Ian quickly moved in front of the counter entrance and backed up towards the back door. "You're not going to hurt them ever again!"

With Calleigh, Rose, and Duncan out of immediate harm's way, Horatio gave the signal to enter the store. The officers quickly entered the store through both entrances. Horatio led the way through one door; Frank through the other. As Engleberg pulled his gun, Ian ran for the back of the store. _"Drop the weapon, Albert!"_ Horatio ordered.  
"I'm not leaving without my wife and son!" Albert shouted at Horatio. Albert then tried to run for the door that Ian had just bolted behind him; Eric quickly blocked his path. "**YOU!" **Engleberg snarled,"You took my wife from me!" an enraged Engelberg fired at Eric. Eric quickly ducked and returned fire. Ryan and several other officers also returned fire; a wounded Engleberg screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Fire and Rescue came in; Eric warned the medics about Engleberg's precarious mental state. Engleberg screamed for "Irene" as he was being taken to the hospital.  
Eric then looked anxiously around the store. **"CALLEIGH!"** Eric called out, kicking in the storage room door to search for his teammate and the Grahams. He soon found all four near some patrol cars; all four had escaped through the service entrance. Eric hugged Calleigh so tightly that she had to remind him of the listening device: "Hey, I don't think my heartbeat counts as evidence!"  
Natalia was heading back to her Hummer when she saw Duncan sitting in a squad car; his aunt and uncle were talking to an officer. Natalia walked over and sat next to the young man, noticing how strangely calm Duncan seemed to be. He looked up at Natalia and asked very solemnly, "Is it over, ma'am?"  
"Well, Duncan, THIS part of it is," Natalia, wrapping a blanket around the shivering Duncan, replied gently. And for the first time in two years, Duncan Graham allowed himself to grieve the loss of his mother. Natalia simply allowed the young man cry on her shoulder. There would be plenty of time for questions later.


	12. Chapter 12

**CSI Miami Fan Fiction **_**"Raymond's Christmas Carol"**_** (Fanfic format)**

**Chapter 12-"Joy in Miami"**

After emergency surgery, Albert Engleberg was placed in the psychiatric ward for observation. He did physically recover enough to attend a court evaluation hearing. He was ordered to be held at a nearby psychiatric facility for further evaluation. All four of the adult Grahams were at the hearing, as were Eric, Calleigh, and Horatio. Engleberg asked for Duncan all through the proceeding, even pleading with "Irene" not to send him away as he was being led from the courtroom. All Eric could do for a stunned Calleigh was to give her a long, comforting hug afterward.  
Engleberg's employer, WTLK-AM, simply announced that Albert Engleberg was on an extended-medical leave with an undisclosed ailment-and an unknown date of return.  
For Duncan, the awful nightmare that he had been carrying around for two years was now over. He was finally able to tell Horatio, Natalia, Ian, and David about what had happened to his mother, to everyone's relief. When Duncan asked about his father, Horatio simply told the young man that his father needed help and was in a very safe place where he wouldn't be able to hurt himself or anyone else ever again.

Bob Gormanson, for his cooperation in the burglary case and Engleberg's hearing, was given two years' informal probation. Part of the probation terms included 200 hours of community service. He spent that time—and more-helping out at various Safe Haven shelters: doing repair work, helping with the children, or other related activities. Bob found that he really liked working at the shelters, especially repairing things. There was an unintended consequence for the good: Bob's father soon joined his eldest son in helping at the shelters. The team knew that they had finally brought the Graham family some long-delayed closure. Natalia smiled as she placed the file to the evidence storage area. It made everyone on the dayshift feel much better to finally see "solved" stamped across the front of the box after two long years.

Everyone at both the Bobbo's North Shore Store and the South Beach Graham's Goodies were excited—it was December 19th, the day of the big Christmas broadcast! The on-air staff of WBLB-AM was at Bobbo's; their counter-parts from WROK-FM were at the South Beach Graham's. Five police vans—loaded with toys and other gifts-were present. The officers were having as much fun as everyone else as they unloaded the vans. The Safe Haven Fund benefitted greatly from both events. Many Bobbo's and Graham's customers, when they heard about the burglaries through the media, contributed extra money to make up for what had been taken. Contributions were still coming in even as the broadcasts were happening.

Horatio and Marisol were at the South Beach Graham's with Eric and Calleigh. Yelina arrived, looking for Raymond. He had left home early that morning—where had he gone? It didn't take long before Horatio located his nephew with Bob Gormanson, helping some officers unload toys. When he and Yelina saw this, she told Horatio, "It's as if Raymond has become a completely different person lately—I don't know what happened." Both saw the young men often as they unloaded toys and helped out in various ways during the whole event.  
Yelina smiled as she watched her son—Raymond seemed to have shaken off whatever had been bothering him. She had heard about what happened to Bob Gormanson; Yelina no longer objected to Raymond's being around Bob again. As Eric, Calleigh, and Marisol saw Raymond at various times during the event, they also saw a changed Raymond. The family group told Raymond how proud they were of him after the event when they all arrived at Yelina's house.

Yelina awoke to quite a surprise the next morning. A single red just-opening rosebud, still damp with the morning's dew, was in a beautiful crystal vase on her dresser. Raymond didn't know anything about the little gift; neither did Horatio.

Raymond also found that that something had also been left for him. Two realistic little toy motorcycles—one black, one blue—sat upright on his desk, along with a picture of Raymond and his parents leaning against his books. Raymond wondered what this could have meant. Was it a trick of the light, Raymond thought as he looked closer at the picture….or was there something that brought a sparkle of life to his father's eyes?  
Then Raymond slowly understood: the three items were reminders of what should be important to him, of what he had—and nearly lost. He gently rearranged the three items, placing the picture on a corner of the desk and carefully putting the bikes in front, the front wheels facing each other. Then he was on his way again, grabbing a couple of granola bars and leaving a note for his mother before he left: _"Something to do with Bob at the lab—will be back later."_

December 20th was a special day at the lab. As some of the personnel would soon be gone for the holiday, there was a little holiday party. Everyone munched on goodies and eggnog and had a good time as Christmas carols played on the overhead speakers.  
Alexx, on her way through the lab to deliver a few reports, thought she heard actual _singing_ coming from the reception area. A curious Ryan and an equally-curious Maxine also heard the music and went to find its source. They stopped halfway down the hallway to the reception area when the singing grew closer. Then, to everyone's delight, the joyfully-singing group came into the lab!  
A group of cheerful carolers, led by Ian and Rose Graham and composed of some of the Safe Haven residents, were walking through the lab, singing carols as they went. All work temporarily stopped as everyone listened. Then, individually and in little groups, the CSIs and lab personnel began to join in. The now-larger group, loudly singing "Jingle Bells," all eventually surrounded the reception-area Christmas tree.  
Horatio looked out over the merry crowd. He soon saw Raymond and Bob with some of the Haven children. Uncle and nephew looked at each other; Raymond, a small child holding each hand, smiled-he was enjoying himself. Bob was holding a wriggling two-year-old boy who wanted down to see "the twee." Horatio's blue eyes misted over, and he smiled as he and Eric made their way over to Raymond. The four of them shared a big hug and Christmas greetings. Horatio and Eric told Raymond and Bob how proud they were of both of them.  
Then the carolers were off again to serenade another part of the department. Eric couldn't help but notice the huge smile on his brother-in-law's face as the carolers left. "Looks like Raymond's found his purpose," Eric happily noted.  
"Yes, Eric," Horatio smiled as he finished his eggnog. "It looks like he has, indeed." They weren't the only ones who noticed.  
Unseen by anyone, Ray Sr. was leaning against a wall near the door. He had seen what had been happening since his visit; he smiled and watched as Raymond walked past. The only thing that he really wished for now was to be able to tell his son how proud he was of him.


End file.
